Ronaldo in tears after Saudi King’s Cup final defeat

Ronaldo in tears after Saudi King’s Cup final defeat

The Portuguese superstar's Al-Nassr side lost to Al-Hilal on penalties late yesterday.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s sole silverware so far with Al-Nassr is last year’s Arab Club Champions Cup. (Reuters pic)
JEDDAH:
Cristiano Ronaldo was in floods of tears after his Al-Nassr side lost the King’s Cup final to Al-Hilal on penalties late yesterday, extending his Saudi Arabian trophy drought.

The Portuguese superstar, whose arrival last year unleashed a flood of top players to the oil-funded Saudi Pro League, slumped to the ground as Al-Hilal celebrated.

Ronaldo, 39, then slowly walked off the pitch and sat in the dugout with tears streaming down his face.

In a tempestuous match that saw three red cards, including one for Al-Nassr’s ex-Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina, Ayman Yahya scored in the 88th minute to cancel out Al-Hilal’s early strike through Aleksandar Mitrovic.

But Al-Hilal triumphed 5-4 in the shootout to complete the Saudi treble after also winning the Super Cup and the Saudi Pro League, finishing unbeaten in domestic action.

This season Al-Hilal, with star signing Neymar injured since October, put together a record, 34-match winning streak in all competitions.

Al-Nassr, who were second in the league behind Al-Hilal, and lost to the same team in the Super Cup, miss out once again despite the prolific Ronaldo, who scored a Pro League record 35 goals.

His sole silverware so far with the Riyadh club is last year’s Arab Club Champions Cup.

Ronaldo’s contract, said to net him €400 million over two-and-a-half years, runs out at the end of next season.

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